In the context of enterprise computing, increased operating costs, inefficient hardware utilization, and rapidly expanding data centers have made virtualization a compelling choice. Virtualization is the process of abstracting computer hardware resources, such as CPU, memory, storage, and network interfaces, from the operating system and applications. The hardware runs a virtualization software (e.g., a hypervisor) that enables the installation of multiple operating systems, each capable of running simultaneously and independently, in its own secure physical environment. In recent years, virtualization has begun to deliver on its promise to lower operating costs by increasing the utilization of hardware and reducing the overall amount of hardware required. However, it is often difficult to deploy and manage complex applications made up of multiple tiers and components—a process which typically involves a sequence of operational stages including testing, staging, and production. For example, details of network connectivity may change in the deployment environment; images may be specific to particular details of the deployment environment; and the proliferation of images can result in sprawl, creating maintenance overhead as each of the images must be patched at the operating system and application layers—all of which can lead to unanticipated costs and other problems.